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About CDC.gov

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ;
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (U.S.). Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections. ;
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (U.S.). Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ;
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (U.S.). Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections. ;
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (U.S.). Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology. Less ▲

The first cases of the current West African epidemic of Ebola virus disease (hereafter referred to as Ebola) were reported on March 22, 2014, with a report of 49 cases in Guinea. By August 31, 2014, a total of 3,685 probable, confirmed, and suspected cases in West Africa had been reported. To aid in planning for additional disease-control efforts, CDC constructed a modeling tool called EbolaResponse to provide estimates of the potential number of future cases. If trends continue without scale-up of effective interventions, by September 30, 2014, Sierra Leone and Liberia will have a total of approximately 8,000 Ebola cases. A potential underreporting correction factor of 2.5 also was calculated. Using this correction factor, the model estimates that approximately 21,000 total cases will have occurred in Liberia and Sierra Leone by September 30, 2014. Reported cases in Liberia are doubling every 15–20 days, and those in Sierra Leone are doubling every 30–40 days. The EbolaResponse modeling tool also was used to estimate how control and prevention interventions can slow and eventually stop the epidemic. In a hypothetical scenario, the epidemic begins to decrease and eventually end if approximately 70% of persons with Ebola are in medical care facilities or Ebola treatment units (ETUs) or, when these settings are at capacity, in a non-ETU setting such that there is a reduced risk for disease transmission (including safe burial when needed). In another hypothetical scenario, every 30-day delay in increasing the percentage of patients in ETUs to 70% was associated with an approximate tripling in the number of daily cases that occur at the peak of the epidemic (however, the epidemic still eventually ends). Officials have developed a plan to rapidly increase ETU capacities and also are developing innovative methods that can be quickly scaled up to isolate patients in non-ETU settings in a way that can help disrupt Ebola transmission in communities. The U.S. government and international organizations recently announced commitments to support these measures. As these measures are rapidly implemented and sustained, the higher projections presented in this report become very unlikely.

Model Overview: We built a spreadsheet-based model that (1) allows user to estimate the number of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) cases in a community, (2) tracks patients susceptibility to disease through infectivity, incubation, recovery, and death, and ...

Background : The 2014–2016 Ebola crisis in West Africa had approximately eight times as many reported deaths as the sum of all previous Ebola outbreaks. The outbreak magnitude and occurrence of multiple Ebola cases in at least seven countries beyon...

This MMWR supplement presents reports that chronicle major aspects of CDC’s unprecedented response to the Ebola epidemic. Written by CDC staff who played key roles, these reports summarize the agency’s work, primarily during the first year and a ...

Since Ebola virus disease was identified in West Africa on March 23, 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has undertaken the most intensive response in the agency's history; >3,000 staff have been involved, including >1,200 depl...

10/16/2014 FOR EXTERNAL DISTRIBUTION : Newly updated information is indicated in red : The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with other U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other domestic and in...

10/2/2014 FOR EXTERNAL DISTRIBUTION : *Newly updated information is indicated in bold/blue : The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with other U.S. government agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other domestic ...